Despite hours of pleas from renters to save their affordable apartments, the Austin City Council on Thursday voted to rezone Acacia Cliffs in Northwest Austin, a complex with working-class tenants and rents averaging $1,100 a month.

The vote concluded a contentious request for a zoning change and density bonus, fiercely contested in recent weeks by tenants who organized protests at City Hall. Residents of the Hart Lane complex, near Mopac and Far West boulevards, warn they risk displacement if a developer demolishes their 290 affordable units to build a 650- to 700-unit project with higher rents.

Residents told council members the density bonus would “incentivize” their displacement and the destruction of Acacia Cliffs' moderately priced units, which are home to retirees, veterans, i

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